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{
    "id": 236611,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/236611/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 288,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Weya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 304,
        "legal_name": "Sammy Arthur Weya",
        "slug": "sammy-weya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to say one or two things in support of this Motion. I do not think the Government is very honest in the way they are bringing up this issue. This is a Government-sponsored Motion and I thought they were advised by the Attorney-General on how to go about it. But the Government 3394 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 2, 2006 has now developed cold feet and is claiming that the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) is operating outside its mandate. The mandate of KNCHR is very clear. It is to investigate on their own initiative or upon complaints by any person on the violations of human rights. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when the Government bought vehicles for as much as Kshs18 million, the KNCHR pointed out this anomaly to the general public. Why would somebody in the rural areas lack drinking water or medicine when one Minister is driving a Range Rover worth Kshs18 million? Is that fair? When the law says that a Minister should not drive a vehicle exceeding so many \"CCs\", yet they are buying vehicles above 4,000 or 8,000 ccs which are guzzling a lot of fuel bought by resources provided by the general public who are struggling out there to pay taxes to this Government to go and misuse! That, in my opinion, is a human rights violation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will go further and say that the Parliament of Kenya does not operate in isolation. Many parliaments all over the world approve the appointment of judges or other commissioners appointed by the President. In this country, we even have a parastatal head who is a bishop but has no clue about aviation. The only qualification he has is that he supported the President during his campaigns and he is a close ally of the Head of State. This is what we are trying to avoid. We want a country where every citizen is given equal opportunity. We do not want to have an elite society where you choose your cronies when you get to power. Where does the poor young man or woman who has struggled through a gruelling education system all the way to the university go? Just because they are not \"connected\" to the elite, they will not get an opportunity to be a managing director of a company! That is the fundamental issue that we are discussing here. We are discussing issues of accountability. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the KNCHR even pointed out politicians who were using abusive language during the referendum campaigns. This is the kind of language that could make Kenyans to fight each other. When they pointed out that issue, the Government said that is not their mandate, yet if they did not point it out, they would have been accused of not doing their job. There has been war between the KNCHR and the Government because of pointing out wrongs within the Government. Because of that, the Government has now taken it upon itself to try and frustrate the KNCHR. That is why, instead of investigating Anglo Leasing type contracts, they are running to the KNCHR claiming they have stolen may be Kshs1 million or Kshs2 million. Where are the Government's priorities; investigating Anglo Leasing or running around after little money? They are looking for the small fish. Granted, there may be some misappropriation of funds at the KNCHR, but they have to come up with facts, instead of saying that because they point out mistakes in Government, let us send the KACC to investigate the Commission to slow them down."
}